Hawaii has the “perfect storm” for high gasoline prices. The price of an average gallon of regular is well above $3 in portions of the state. That is against a national average of $1.90, and prices as low as $1.25 in some small parts of the Midwest, according to GasBuddy.
Gas prices in Hawaii have come down as they have everywhere else in the United States, and crude prices have dropped near $30 a barrel. But Hawaii has no oil reserves of any kind. Gasoline has to be shipped in from hundreds, if not thousands, of miles away. Gas taxes and levies in the state total $0.608 per gallon, the fourth highest of any state. The tax level compares to $0.48 nationwide, and a low of under $0.40 in many energy-rich states such as Oklahoma, Mississippi and Texas.
The oil that is refined into gas in Hawaii either comes from the West Coast of the United States or from Asia. Transportation costs are tremendous.
The problem is nearly as bad in California, which faces many of the same challenges as Hawaii. Some portions of California in and around the largest cities have gas prices, on average for a gallon of regular, which are nearly $3. California is not near any large oil field. The gas tax in the state is the fifth highest in the country (right after Hawaii) at $0.59 a gallon
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Looking forward, whether the price of oil rises or falls, Hawaii’s position in terms of gas prices will not change. They will remain among the highest in the United States. There are too many factors stacked against it for the fact to be otherwise.
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